Form of words:
New Delhi: The history of Hindi cinema is full of memorable musicians, from the venerable Naushad to Burman father and son, Madan Mohan, OP Nayyar, Hemant Kumar, Shankar-Jaikishan, Kalyanji-Anandji, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Roshan and many more. And then there was Salil Chowdhury – not only an outstanding musician, but also a writer, poet, theater personality and staunch leftist.
Born on 19 November 1925 in Ghazipur village (modern South 24 Parganas district) in Bengal, ‘Salil Da’ spent his childhood in the tea gardens of Assam listening to his doctor father’s collection of Western classical music. This training, along with the Bengali and Assamese folk music that surrounded him, gave him a style that was not only distinct from that of his great contemporaries, but also completely distinctive.
On his 26th death anniversary, ThePrint looks back on the long, distinguished career of this multi-talented artist.
Read also: 8 Songs That Prove That Anand Bakshi Was The Lyricist Of Hindi Cinema For The Common Man
a political man
Salil Chowdhury was a young man who stepped into the world when the world was hit by the infamous famine of 1943. This period shaped the politics of his life, drawing him towards communist ideology and especially the Indian People’s Theater Association (IPTA). He wrote street plays and songs to perform for the people of villages and districts.
he once said in a Interview: “I was active in student movements since childhood. I also joined the peasant movement in 24 Parganas near Calcutta and wrote songs for it. In the terrible tragedy in Bengal in 1944, about five million people lost their lives, which I had seen with my own eyes. So I joined the movement and IPTA. Meanwhile, I lived underground, in the Sundarbans, for two years, and even then, I continued to write and write songs for the movement. “
His journey in cinema began in 1949 with a Bengali film poribortan, and he was soon seen as the rising star of the industry with hits like pasher barik (which was later made into a Hindi film neighbor) And barjatri.
Salil Da’s entry in Hindi cinema was not done by design. He recalled in the same interview quoted above: “I was writing a script for a Bengali film about a farmer whose land has been forcibly taken away, and he goes to Calcutta to earn some money, and there he finds him. is forced to pull a rickshaw. Hrishikesh Mukherjee liked the script and then told about it to Bimal da (Bimal Roy). Bimal da wanted to make a film in Hindi on it, and thus two bighas of land (1953) came into existence.”
He also composed the music for the all-time classic film, marking the first of his 75 film soundtrack compositions in Hindi. He also composed music for 45 Bengali and 26 Malayalam films, in addition to at least 10 other languages.
Read also: 5 Songs to Remember the Romantic Poet of Hindi Cinema Shakeel Badayuni
musical style
Salil Chowdhury was one of the early proponents of East-West fusion in Indian cinema, and would experiment not only in terms of melodies but also as instrumental arrangements.
He was one of the pioneers to introduce folk forms in Hindi film music on the one hand (Mercy Ray has climbed the sinful nettle from the 1958 film Madhumati) and Western classical music, such as Mozart’s 40th Symphony (Don’t you love me so much since 1961 Shadow) on the other. another song from Madhumati, ‘heart yearning‘ It is said to be based on a Hungarian folk tune.
‘O Sajna Barkha Bahar Aai’‘, a classical-based composition, is often considered one of Lata Mangeshkar’s greatest performances, and Salil Da’s melody is a big reason.
‘O my dear country’‘, the soul-shaking Manna Dey song Kabuliwala, has Arabic-Afghan vocals, while the music of Kishore Kumar’s cult comedy half ticket Featuring not only the western style, but also a unique duet – come straight. Unique as both the male and female parts are sung by Kishore in different voices.
In the 1970s, Salil Chowdhury provided more wonderful music for Hrishikesh Mukherjee. PleasureGulzar’s directorial debut my ownand Basu Chatterjee tuberose And Small matter, among others. Each of these soundtracks is considered a classic in its own right. He also produced Yash Chopra’s Amitabh Bachchan-starrer black Stone (1979).
Salil Da left an indelible mark on the minds of fans across languages with his songs of love, happiness, sadness and longing. And the fans are still singing his songs.
Read also: 5 songs and 5 moods to remember Bollywood’s versatile composer Khayyam
subscribe our channel youtube And Wire
Why is the news media in crisis and how can you fix it?
India needs free, unbiased, non-hyphenated and questionable journalism even more as it is facing many crises.
But the news media itself is in trouble. There have been brutal layoffs and pay-cuts. The best of journalism are shrinking, yielding to raw prime-time spectacle.
ThePrint has the best young journalists, columnists and editors to work for it. Smart and thinking people like you will have to pay a price to maintain this quality of journalism. Whether you live in India or abroad, you can Here.